5 Tips for Dealing with Frustrating Home Inspection Customers

As a home inspector, you are bound to deal with a frustrating customer sooner or later. Humans are well…human. And sometimes you can do everything right and it is just not good enough. However, there are some techniques that you can use to your advantage to make a bad situation better and an upset customer, a happy one.

Make Them Someone Else’s Headache

Here’s a way to be tactful as well as helpful: Print up a sheet with your competitor’s numbers and websites and hand that to a customer you are sure will be a future problem. You can focus on your business growth while others focus on the headache.

Don’t Take the Bait

When a customer is angry, they want a response from you. Very often, they are expecting you to get upset and become angry as well. But don’t take the bait. The trick is to let them vent, take a deep breath, relax, and soften your tone as you respond. When you do, you will be surprised at how quickly the customer will calm down and be willing to work everything out.

Sum It Up and Repeat It Back

If you think back to when you had a bad experience as a customer, what you really want is for someone to understand. So even though it can be difficult, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Try to understand what they are upset about. When they are done venting, say something like, “I want to make sure I understand you. So what you are saying is…” That communication gets to the heart of what is wrong so that you have something real you can work with and resolve.

It’s Not Me…It’s You

When dealing with a frustrating customer, it’s difficult to keep an objective perspective. But it is very important to take a moment and ask yourself if there is anything you have done to contribute to the problem. Is there something with your business approach or communication technique you can improve? What can you do in the future to avoid a similar situation? Make sure it really is them and not you.